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Insomnia vs ngrok
Open-source API client focused on testing, not tunnel infrastructure
InsomniaOpen-source API client for REST, GraphQL and gRPC
ngrokSecure tunnels and ingress to localhostWhich to pick
Pick Insomnia if you want…
- Collaborative AI-native API testing
- API testing and debugging
- Open-source code (Kong/insomnia on GitHub, Apache-2.0 license)
- Integrations with Kong Konnect, OIDC or SCIM (on Insomnia's list, not ngrok's)
Pick ngrok if you want…
- Secure, observable tunnels for local and cloud services
- Integrations with HTTP, TCP or TLS (on ngrok's list, not Insomnia's)
Side by side
- What it is
- Insomnia:Insomnia is an open-source API client for designing, testing, debugging and mocking REST, GraphQL, gRPC, SOAP and WebSocket APIs.
- ngrok:ngrok provides secure tunnels that expose local apps, APIs, and AI models to the internet with traffic routing and observability.
- Best for
- Insomnia:Collaborative AI-native API testing
- ngrok:Secure, observable tunnels for local and cloud services
- Who it’s for
- Insomnia:API developers, security-focused teams, and organizations needing collaborative API workflows.
- ngrok:Developers and teams needing to expose local services securely for testing, demos, or production traffic.
- Pricing
- Insomnia:Freemium
- ngrok:Freemium
- Plans
- Insomnia:—
- ngrok:Free $0 · Hobbyist $10 per month · Pay-as-you-go $20 per month + additional usage
- Open source
- Insomnia:Yes, 40,038 GitHub stars
- ngrok:—
- Works with
- Insomnia:Kong Konnect, OIDC, SAML, SCIM, Inso CLI
- ngrok:HTTP, TCP, TLS, SAML, OpenID Connect, OAuth
Insomnia features
- Design-first API editor. Create and preview OpenAPI specs in real time with live linting.
- Native API mocking. Generate dynamic mock responses from collections, specs or plain language.
- Automated testing at scale. Run unlimited collection tests with pre/post scripts and CI/CD integration via Inso CLI.
- Kong Konnect integration. Sync API catalog directly with Kong Konnect for up-to-date endpoint discovery.
- Collaboration & RBAC. Real-time project sharing, role-based access controls and unlimited collaborators per project.
- Flexible storage options. Store data locally, in Git, in the cloud, or hybrid with end-to-end encryption.
- Enterprise identity & security. SSO via OIDC/SAML, SCIM provisioning, SOC 2 compliance and enterprise SLAs.
- MCP client support. Test and debug MCP servers with AI-powered workflows.
ngrok features
- Secure Tunnels. Creates encrypted tunnels from localhost to public URLs for HTTP, TCP, and TLS traffic.
- AI Gateway. Routes requests to hosted or self-hosted AI models with failover and observability.
- Traffic Policy & mTLS. Applies WAF, mutual TLS, and other policies per request for enhanced security.
- Custom Domains & Wildcards. Supports bring-your-own domains, ngrok-branded domains, and wildcard sub-domains.
- Observability & Logs. Provides traffic inspector, log export to S3/Datadog and retention settings.
Insomnia vs ngrok FAQ
Is Insomnia or ngrok free?+
Insomnia has a free plan and paid plans. ngrok has a free plan; paid plans start at $10/month (Hobbyist).
Is Insomnia or ngrok open source?+
Insomnia is open source (Kong/insomnia on GitHub, Apache-2.0 license). DevHunt has no public source repository on record for ngrok.
Do Insomnia and ngrok integrate with the same tools?+
Partly. Both list SAML. Insomnia also lists Kong Konnect, OIDC, SCIM and Inso CLI; ngrok also lists HTTP, TCP, TLS, OpenID Connect and 1 more.
On DevHunt
Based on each tool's website and DevHunt data. Details may change; check the official sites.